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62 / BACK TO SCHOOL / MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Adam Buhler/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Family over everything
BY COREY THIBODEAUX cthibodeaux@kansan.com
F-O-E.
Those three simple letters are a staple in the Morris family. They make up the second tattoo Marcus and Markieff each put on their arms. No amount of women and money could match it. Even when separated, the twins only care about one thing: "Family over everything."
"We cherish each other a whole lot," Markieff said. "We always think about family first. That's how we are."
If the Jayhawks have a veteran superstar, it's Marcus Morris. He earned invitations to camps hosted by NBA All-Stars Amare Stoudemire and LeBron James. In
those camps, he bonded with buddies Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly from Kansas State, among other talented collegians.
Then Marcus was one of only 20 college players invited to practice against the USA Men's basketball team. In other words, he practiced against the country's greatest NBA players. It was perfect except for one thing — he went alone.
It seems now "the twins" are becoming "Marcus" and "Markieff", a sign the two are defining themselves as individuals.
The twins are usually a package deal. They take all the same classes. They both get punished in practice when one messes up. And you don't have to worry about identifying them because they are always together.
"I really don't like it that way," Marcus said. "I love being the twinn. I love being Markieff's brother."
"We're always going to share the spotlight, no matter what," Markieff said. "Neither one of us would soak without the other."
Ever since Marcus' breakout season, in which he averaged 12.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, all the attention is on him. Yet the siblings regard it as mutual success.
Markieff said he wanted to be with his brother at those camps, but it would have been at the expense of school and his own workouts. All he would have been able to do was watch.
"It gives me kind of a boost when I'm not invited to the camps,"
Markieff said. "When nobody's paying attention, it's making me work harder."
This summer, Markieck wakes $u_{i}$ for an early morning run every day and lifts twice a day, giving Marcus reason to say his brother is a sleeper this upcoming season.
"I think he's going to explode this year," Marcus said.
The absence of Cole Aldrich could help. Aldrich's 27 minutes per game will likely be divived up between sophomore centers Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey, with Markieff in the mix.
Marcus and Markieff claim to have a "vibe" on the court because they are twins, but they haven't had a lot of court time to put it on display. They said the "vibe" allows
them to know what the other will do and how to set each other up better, unlike any other combination on the team.
They're taking different routes to improvement this summer. But once the twins take the court later this year, they said, it will be as if they never spent a second apart.
They took different routes to improvement this summer beforefinally teaming up Aug. 6-8 at the Adidas Nations Experience camp in Chicago.According to Draftexpress.com, Marcus and Markieff were exceptional.
That's just a sign of things to come for the twins.
"The connection we've got is unbelievable," Markieff said. "You'll see."